When Ron Attempts To Set Them Up
by Hermione Sweetheart
Summary: Ron attempts to set up Harry and Hermione. But we know he's not the most clever person. Complete
1. Hermione's got a diary?

Harry and Ron came through the portrait hole after a bit of flying practice, only to find Hermione sitting at a small table in a corner, scribbling furiously.

"Hi," Harry said as he sat down next to her. Ron pulled up a chair and sat across from her. "What are you doing?"

She squeaked, as though just realizing they had arrived. "Um... nothing," she said, stuffing what looked like a small book out of sight.

"Hey, what was that?" Ron asked, reaching for the pile of books Hermione had slid the smaller one under.

"Nothing," Hermione said, more calmly this time. "And anyway, it's not really any of your business."

"Was that a diary?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Um... no..." Hermione turned pink as she tried and failed to lie to them.

"Yes, it was!" Ron exclaimed.

"No!" Hermione said. "No, it's... it's a project."

"Okay."

"Well..." Hermione said after a moment. "Okay, it's a _diary_, if you want to call it that, but it's really none of your business, so I would appreciate it if you two would worry about your own lives, like the fact that your homework's due tomorrow and I know for a fact neither of you have started it!"

She sat back, looking slightly pleased with her outburst.

"Well... well..." Ron stuttered. He sighed. "Fine. You're right."

"Thank you." There was silence for a moment.

"That doesn't mean we can't try and look at it!" Harry said, reaching out and successfully slipping the diary out from under Hermione's books.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, half-shrieking, half-laughing. "Give it back!"

"Never!" Harry laughed, getting up and holding it behind him.

"Harry!" she said again, trying to reach behind him for it. He dodged her and when she lunged for it again, he enveloped her in a hug as she struggled to get away.

"Let me go!" she laughed, her arms pinned to her sides. Harry deftly tossed the diary back onto the table (he would never have _actually_ read it, after all!) with one hand and began to tickle her. She shrieked with laugher again.

Ron watched his two friends, amused and deep in thought. He looked at Harry. He looked at Hermione, in his arms. He looked back at Harry, who was grinning. And a light bulb flicked on in his head. Or rather, he came to a sudden conclusion - he'd never really had the opportunity to see a light bulb in action, after all, nor had he ever watched a Muggle cartoon.

After a few moments, Harry and Hermione's laughter subsided. He let her go, and she awkwardly smoothed down her skirt before gathering her books and picking up her bag from the floor.

"Well, goodnight," she said, heading towards the stairs. She patted Ron's shoulder, and on her way past Harry, she grinned and skirted around him.

"'Night," he called after her. Ron did the same. Harry sat down in Hermione's vacant chair, but after a moment, he yawned.

"I should probably get to bed, too," Harry said.

"What about your homework?" Ron asked. "The essay for Divination?"

Harry mentally checked his schedule before answering. "We have that last class of the day. I'll do it in the morning. I'm really tired, and besides - do we ever spend much time on Divination work anyway?"

Ron just grinned. "You've got a point."

"Are you coming up?"

Ron opened his mouth to say 'in a minute', but his eyes stopped on Hermione's diary, still lying on the table. "Er, no, I'll... I'll stay down here for a bit."

Harry shrugged. "Okay. 'Night."

"See you."

Ron watched Harry disappear up the boys' staircase before reaching out for Hermione's diary. As his fingers touched the red velvet cover, he knew he had a plan.


	2. Ron begins his plan

Ron felt the tips of his ears redden even as he looked at the diary in his hands. This was wrong. It was Hermione's _diary_.

But he had to do it.

Feeling guilty already, he took a deep breath and opened the diary. There was no turning back. He flipped to the latest entry.

_Dear Diary,_

_Today was... well, normal, I must say. Potions was far from enjoyable, as usual, but Arithmancy was good, although I somehow missed number thirty-seven in the homework. It was quite frustrating, really. I won Gryffindor ten points in Transfiguration for being the only one to Transfigure those chickens into teapots, though._

_Harry and Ron are out practicing Quidditch, or just flying around, maybe. I'm not exactly sure. I'd go watch, but it's getting dark, so they're probably nearly finished. _

_I'm hoping no one reads this next part. But who would?_

Ron felt the heat rise in his face. But he had to read on.

_It's very strange, but... I think I might fancy Harry. Now, don't jump to conclusions, I'm not sure yet. But I was sitting at dinner and I found myself just... looking at him. And smiling. He asked me what was wrong. I told him nothing was wrong - I hadn't even realized I was looking at him. And last night, I had a dream where I was dancing with this guy, but I couldn't see his face. It was cast in shadow. But he was really sweet, and he brought me a rose, and we waltzed to some beautiful music. Right before I woke up, the shadows disappeared, and it was Harry!  
Do I sound insane? Should I act on this? Probably not... after all, I might not even really feel that way about him. It could ruin our friendship, if he found out. I mean... no, I'll keep this to myself. I don't like him. I don't. Don't, don't, don't. I can't. He won't feel the same way, anyway. If only --_

_Oh, no - Harry and Ron are back. I'll write more later!_

_Hermione_

Ron closed the diary numbly. Well, that was far more information than he had expected. He'd been looking for a simple 'Harry looked nice today' or something similar to help him along.

However, this was certainly going to help his plan. He retrieved his bag and pulled out a blank sheet of parchment, a quill, and ink.

'If Hermione wants Harry to fancy her, then that's what will happen,' he thought as he began to write.

The next morning, Hermione awoke early and sat up, rubbing her eyes. She reached over to pick up her watch from her bedside table and discovered a piece of folded parchment sitting underneath it.

'That's weird,' she thought. 'I don't remember leaving that there.'

She picked it up curiously and unfolded it.

_Dear Hermione,_

_Good morning. I hope you slept well. _

_If however possible, could you meet me under the beech tree by the lake at four o'clock this afternoon? I have something important to tell you._

_-Harry_

Her brow furrowed. This was all very strange. What could Harry have to tell her that he couldn't tell Ron? Why must they meet after classes, outside?

She folded up the note and got dressed, slipping the note into a pocket of her robes. She went downstairs into the common room and came face-to-face to Harry.

"Good morning," he said.

"Um, yeah, good morning, Harry," she said, still confused over what he could want to tell her. She opened her mouth to ask him about it when Ron came downstairs as well. She closed her mouth then - if Harry wanted to meet about it privately, he probably didn't want to discuss it now in front of Ron.

"Good morning," Ron said. He had a strange twinkle in his eye. "Lovely day, don't you think?"

"Sure," Harry replied. "Though we haven't been outside yet."

"Well, we can't be late for breakfast!" Ron said, ushering them towards the portrait hole. "I'm starving."

Hermione's brow furrowed again. What was going on?


	3. It all works out

Throughout the day, Ron seemed strangely cheerful. He grinned throughout Transfiguration, although he couldn't seem to Transfigure a single inch of his quill into an envelope.

He practically skipped towards Potions, and sat calmly smiling through Snape's speech about Weasleys never being capable of any sort of magical talents.

By the end of the day, Hermione was actually a little glad to get away from Ron. It was unnerving, being next to someone grinning from ear to ear for absolutely no reason at all. It was as though he'd done something he was extremely proud of.

She got to the beech tree by the lake with a few minutes to spare. Looking around, she could see that Harry wasn't there yet. She leaned idly against the tree, pondering what kind of news he could want to tell her.

"Hi," came Harry's voice from behind her. She jumped.

"Oh, hi," she said. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry," he said. "Okay, well, I've got something to tell you. You see, I --"

He stopped as a large school owl swooped down and dropped a letter on Hermione's head.

"Oh," Harry said. "Well, go ahead and see what that is. I can wait."

Hermione, more confused than ever, unfolded the parchment.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I want you to know that I love you. Really. As more than a friend, I mean. Please meet me in the common room after dinner._

_Love,_

_Harry_

"Huh?" she said aloud. She looked at Harry, who seemed politely puzzled. She looked back at the letter, with its strange, scrawly handwriting. Handwriting that didn't belong to Harry. She looked back at Harry, who was now frowning.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Um..." she said, trying to find the words. She gave up and simply handed him the note. She watched as he read it, and his frown deepened. "Why would you ask me to meet you twice? And... you love me? Just like that?"

"I didn't write this," Harry said. He was chuckling.

"Huh?" Hermione asked desperately. Why was he laughing? She put a hand to her forehead, feeling like she'd been hit with a very strong Befuddlement Charm.

"Look," Harry said, pointing to the letter. "This is _Ron's handwriting_."

"What?" she asked. Looking more carefully, she realized it was. "But... why..."

"He was trying to set us up!" Harry exclaimed, laughing more openly now.

"But... but..." she said in reply. "Why... what..."

"Never mind," Harry said, handing her back the letter. "I do have something important to tell you, though."

He took her hand is his own, looking down at it and mumbling slightly. "Er, well, this is sort of hard... I don't want you to be afraid of ruining our friendship by turning me down, but... I was wondering... er... will you go to Hogsmeade with me on Saturday?"

"But Saturday is Valentine's Day," she said, still a little confused.

He looked up at her. "I know."

"Then you mean --"

"That I'm asking you on a date?" Harry supplied. "Er, yes."

Hermione was at a loss for words. She smiled, and opened her mouth to accept, but instead she closed it and nodded 'okay'. Harry was about to say something when --

"IT WORKED!" came a shout. Harry dropped her hand in surprise as they both turned to see Ron, exploding from the nearby bushes and jumping up and down. He ran over to them.

"See?" he said. "It worked. My plan worked! That letter, that was actually from me, and that owl - that was a school owl! And now you guys are going on a date! Am I brilliant or what?" He jumped into the air again.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other. Hermione raised her eyebrows. _Do we tell him?_

He shook his head. _No. It doesn't really matter, anyway. _They shared a secret smile.

"Yes," Hermione said, turning to Ron. "Yes, it was a brilliant plan."

"Absolutely terrific," Harry added.

"You're welcome," Ron said happily as they turned and started walked back towards the castle. Harry was in the middle, with Hermione on his left and Ron on his right. He looked over at Hermione, who smiled and, somewhat shyly, took his hand. He looked at Ron, who grinned enthusiastically at him.

And, at that moment, he felt extremely lucky to be Harry Potter.


End file.
